Every Monday our ABC Gold Coast Breakfast program investigates the story behind a different place or structure that is named after someone, who did something, many years ago.

The segment is called 'What's in a name?' and you can hear it every Monday at 6:20am on 91.7 FM.

Alternatively, you can check in here to read about and listen to each new instalment.

Cronin Island

The name 'Cronin' pops up quite a bit around the Gold Coast - Cronin Island, Jack Cronin Park in Southport and Cronin Ave in Main Beach.

The man behind the name is the late Jack Cronin.

Jack was the very first engineer employed by local council.

David Cronin is his son.

"We're going back to 1947 when it was the Southport Town Council. Eventually the council got bigger and bigger and became the Gold Coast City Council and he remained its chief engineer until 1978," says David.

"He was involved with a lot of the change on the Gold Coast because it was only a small fishing village in those days and he was responsible for the development of the canals and the dams and the bridges, and everything else that you see about the place these days.

"He was a pretty quiet, modest sort of man who lived for his family as much as for anything else, very active in the church and the rotary club. He never really told me what he thought about having an island named after him but I guess he was pretty chuffed as anyone would be."

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear David's full interview with ABC Gold Coast's Bern Young.

Mel De La Haye Park

You'll find Mel De La Haye Park in the back streets of Mermaid Waters.

Mel moved his family to the Gold Coast in 1967.

He was a Police Officer at the time but was later elected into the Albert Shire Council in 1976.

"Council in my days... you did it as a community service - we were never paid a salary," says Mel.

"I was never paid a salary until 1988. I objected to the concept that was brought up from time to time of paying people in councils - you're supposed to be doing it as a community service."

When the park was flagged to be named after Mel, it took him by surprise as he had been away on holidays.

"I had been away and missed the committee meetings," he says.

When Mel did return home he went through the minutes for the meetings he had missed.

"The next thing I see cropping up 'name this park Mel De La Haye Park' - no one even told me about it in council... I really thought that one of the staff in council would have come up and tapped me on the shoulder!

"It was fantastic, very very humbling."

Listen to the audio to hear Mel's full interview with ABC Gold Coast's Peter Scott.

Gordon and Jean Duncan Carpark

Imagine living in the same suburb, same street, and same house for 70 years!

That's what Jean Duncan did, raising a family with her husband Gordon in Park Avenue, Burleigh Heads.

The house is longer standing, now a construction site for a supermarket moving into town.

Gordon and Jean's daughter, Rose Newman, says her mother was very well known around town.

In fact around the neighbourhood she was referred to as 'The Mayor of Park Avenue'.

'Because she always had her nose into everything and she knew everything that was going on," says Rose.

One thing Jean was passionate about was never selling her house and land to council.

In fact Rose says her very last words to her were "now Rose, don't you sell my bloody house to the council."

"She didn't want them taking her house and knocking down her trees and her garden and all the rest of it - which we never did," Rose says.

But the family did sell the house to the local baker. After that it changed hands a few times, and the land has now been bought by a supermarket chain.

But what is left standing is the 'Gordon and Jean Duncan Car Park'.

Listen to the audio to hear Rose's full interview with ABC Gold Coast's Bern Young as she paints a picture of Burleigh in the 1930s.

Litfin Family Park

The story of the Litfin family began when Joe Litfin was granted a license to mine sand from the Gold Coast spit.

Joe was Chris Litfin's grandfather.

Chris says the sand was 'casting sand' which is low in salt and is very fine.

"In the development of Queensland and south-east Queensland particularly, when the rail was being built and then the war effort there was a lot of machinery that was casting steel and this particular sand was the best that you could get anywhere and he was supplying it up and down the state . It was a very big business and it was in demand."

In the 1950s Chris' father, Kevin, took over this family business.

But the Litfin family are not only remembered for their sand mining.

"The Litfins have been here in some form since 1882 and Southport was only named in the 1870s so they've really been here since day one," says Chris.

"They haven't really contributed to anything massive but lots and lots of things along the way.

"Being one of the main families when there wasn't many people in Southport you really get involved in everything and a lot of the things we have today are things they started."

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Chris' full interview with ABC Gold Coast Drive Presenter, Bernadette Young.

Craigs Crossing

Drive up the Currumbin Valley for a swim at the rock pools and you'll cross Currumbin Creek several times.

One of the bridges you'll cross is Craigs Crossing, named after the Craig family.

Merv Craig has lived his entire life in the Currumbin Valley.

He says the story of the crossing goes back to the 1900s when the valley area was opened up for farming settlements.

It was then that Merv's grandfather bought three properties for five pounds an acre!

Merv remembers growing up in a strong community - one in which people "never had to ask for volunteers" when they needed help.

"If someone was sick or had an accident, automatically the farmers in the valley used to go and do the work for him - cut the bananas or milk his cows or do whatever," he says.

"That was just part of living in the valley at the time, because everybody knew everybody else here and so we were all like one big family."

Merv later went on to spend 28 years with the Albert Shire Council, and also had Elanora's Merv Craig Sporting Complex named after him.

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Merv's full interview with ABC Gold Coast's Peter Scott.

Hedges Ave

It's known as 'millionaire's row' - the street by the beach occupied by mansions.

We know how it got that nickname, but why was it officially called Hedges Avenue?

As it turns out, it was named after a man called William Hedges.

His grandson, Brian Hedges, says that just prior to 1920 William became what he called a "land and commission agent."

"We might call it a 'real estate agent' now," says Brian.

"He bought land-sold it, bought houses-rented them, and made his money that way."

In the early1920s William Hedges owned just over 32 acres of land in the area.

At the time the land valued at a total of 810 pounds!

Brian says "I wish he'd never sold the stuff and handed it down to my father!"

Many of the surrounding streets were also named after William's family.

Some of these are Arthur Street (his son), Alfred Street (his step son) and Hilda Street (his second wife).

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Brian's full interview with ABC Gold Coast Drive Presenter, Bernadette Young.

Gaven

The boundaries of the suburb of Gaven were gazetted in March, 1979.

The Albert Shire Council named the district after the Gaven family whose association with the area goes back to 1880.

In the 1900s Eric Gaven was a local shire councillor, state politician, and land owner.

Eric's daughter, Norma Millard, says one of the many things her father did was fight hard to build Southport Hospital.

"What we had was a little one in Johnson street and the population was growing, growing and growing, and we had no big hospital, so he fought for that one," Norma says.

Even later on when Norma had her own children, she remembers a very different type of maternity unit than what we have today.

"It was like a house just beside where the hospital is built now - that was the maternity section - you just went into this house and had your babies."

Another one of Eric Gaven's interesting achievements was getting alcohol allowed into restaurants at Surfers Paradise.

"All they had in the tourist section of Surfers Paradise is what they called the 'Six o'clock swirl' - sitting around the gutters and drinking," says Norma.

"After Mum and Dad had travelled a while Dad thought it was just great that you could go and have a meal and a glass of wine, so when he came home he decided that should happen here because people travelled over here to Surfers Paradise and the only beer they could get was the six o'clock line-up with all the local boys."

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Norma's full interview with ABC Gold Coast Drive Presenter, Bernadette Young.

Schuster Park

Schuster Park is on the banks of Tallebudgera creek in West Burleigh.

Reg Schuster's father, Joe Schuster, bought 90 acres of land by the creek and ran a dairy farm.

This is where Reg grew up.

"He used to go to the railway by horse and cart (with the milk) three days a week... where they'd separate the milk and get the cream and then he'd take that in a cream can - that would go up to Kingston, on the other side of Beenleigh, to a butter factory up there," says Reg.

Joe was also a blacksmith and a councilman with a strong sense of public duty.

As well as being a councillor he was on the school committee, church committee, part of the Masonic lodge, and involved in the ambulance service.

"He was never at home... he was in every cat and dog fight around."

Obviously a lot has changed since then, not just on the now non-existent farm, but in Burleigh itself.

"I don't think Joe Schuster would be happy with the way things are now - all the traffic going into Burleigh. All you'd look out to in those days was a sea and the railway.

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Reg's full interview with ABC Gold Coast Drive Presenter, Bernadette Young.

Oxenford

Oxenford is named after a pioneering family of the area.

Jim and Mary Oxenford are part of the family who still call the Gold Coast home.

The suburb began when Jim's great grandfather moved here from England in 1859 and took up a 225 acre property, a strip of land running from the Coomera River back to Oxenford-Tamborine Rd.

"When he came here he tried various things like growing rice and sugar cane and things of that nature ... it was many many years later that he got into dairy farming and I assume that wouldn't have happened until the railway came through," says Jim.

"And as far as I can find out the railway came through here about 1898."

With the railway brought Oxenford railway station.

"This station was a centre for everyone up the Coomera Valley, right up there to the timber getters and banana growers and everything," Jim says.

But the property was soon converted into a successful dairy farm.

"It was the land boom of the 70s and 80s that caused the whole area to boom and the dairy industry gradually lost out, the farms were sold up and there's no dairy industry on the coast anymore. The land boom is what made the area what it is today."

But Jim is not sentimental about the change to the town.

"I'm a modern man, I think everything changes for the better, it was bloody awful in the old days- we had a good time I've got to admit as kids and growing up here - but gee it's better today I reckon."

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Jim and his wife Mary's full interview with ABC Gold Coast's Peter Scott.

Arthur Freeman Lookout

If you drive through Currumbin Valley and up towards the Qld/NSW border you will come to Arthur Freeman Lookout.

Almost a century ago banana trees filled the sides of the Currumbin and Tallebudgera Valleys, but the area has changed significantly since then.

Arthur Freeman owned a very large and successful banana plantation there from 1915 -1924.

Arthur Freeman was Bill Freeman's great uncle.

Bill joined Arthur on the banana farm when he returned from war in 1945 and still lives in the area, owning the Freeman's roadside foodstall at the top of the valley.

Bill says Arthur started the original farm "as a result of world war one ruining a business he had in Fiji exporting bananas from Fiji to Australia. They took the ships back and said 'sorry you can't have these anymore' so he came back to Australia. How he settled in Currumbin - I haven't the faintest idea... but he apparently liked the look of things here, bought some land and started growing bananas hey presto."

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Bill's full interview with ABC Gold Coast's Peter Scott.

Alex Griffiths Park

Alex Griffiths Park is surrounded by trees, just near Flat Rock Creek in Currumbin.

The park is named after the man who started Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary.

Garth Threlfall is an old friend of Alex's and also worked at the sanctuary.

Garth says the story goes back to 1942, when Alex came to the area with his parents and started growing gladioli flowers and keeping bee hives.

"He found that the Gladioli flowers were being damaged by these pesky lorikeets, particularly the red ones he told me... but being a nature lover he couldn't do anything about it - shooting them or anything like that," Garth says.

"So he decided to put out some plates of honey on his veranda to get them to come and feed somewhere else - and that's where it started."

Soon the lorikeet feedings became popular, with people coming to his property to watch. In fact so many people were turning up that Alex built a kiosk on his property to accommodate them.

"Alex was a man of vision... he became the first pioneer of the tourism industry on the Gold Coast .

"He could see that by encouraging the birds and encouraging people to come here that he had an attraction... and people came and came and came - because let's face it - wild birds coming and landing all over you is something that doesn't happen in a lot of places."

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Garth's full interview with ABC Gold Coast Drive Presenter, Bernadette Young.

A.D Hollindale Stand

Some people are honoured if they have one thing named after them, Allan Hollindale has three!

There's a park in Main Beach, an annual horse race, and the A.D Hollindale Stand at the Gold Coast Turf Club.

Allan's son, Ian, says his father never missed a race day.

"He loved racing, racing was in his blood," says Ian

"He rode picnic race days for his father, had a couple of horses that ran around the Oxenford track."

He then went to war, and upon his return joined the dairy industry.

Then in the early 1960s the Southport and Oxenford race clubs amalgamated. Allan ran for chairman, and was elected.

"And he was still chairman when he died in 1988," says Ian. "So he had well over 20 years at a time when the club was really growing."

Allan sure left his mark on the racing industry, putting south-east Queensland on the racing map, and creating the Magic Millions.

Allan was also a cattle farmer, owner of the company 'Gold Coast milk', and integral in forming the south-coast dairy cooperative.

He was also involved in the chamber of commerce, cricket association, school P&C, council, local politics and was a church warden.

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Ian Hollindale's full interview with ABC Gold Coast Drive Presenter, Bernadette Young.

Slatyer Avenue

Slatyer Avenue is named after two Gold Coast brothers who served in World War II.

Allan and Gordon Slatyer were both killed - Allan in a plane crash and Gordon in the Battle of El Alamein.

"The two boys went away - one in the Air Force and one in the Army," says Pamela Slatyer, who has been researching her family tree.

A group of 11 men from the area went to war, the Slatyer brothers being two of eight that never came home.

But Garth Andrews was one of the men who came back - to the Andrews family farm that was subdivide in the 1950s.

It was at this time that Garth decided to name the streets after his mates that didn't return.

"When they were broken up (the farms) it was decided that the streets would be named after 11 of the boys that they served with so that they could honour those boys," says Pamela.

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Pamela's full interview with ABC Gold Coast Drive Presenter, Bernadette Young.

Laver Drive

You will find Laver Drive very close to Robina Town Centre.

Robina is now the home of roundabouts and traffic, as well as extensive suburban, retail and business development.

The Laver family story is about the very, very early beginnings of Robina.

In the 1920s it was a rural farming area.

Bill Laver's grandfather bought three dairy farms there in 1923.

"My parents and I used to come over here and have Sunday dinner with them and all of this was just cow country - there was no buildings here. Grandma would always have roast duck or roast chook - something like that for dinner," Bill says.

"And they had a very nice house right there on the roundabout, and a garden where I used to have mulberries, peaches... all those sorts of goodie things."

But what was once the home of roast lunches and fruit trees is now a rail line - a very different Robina.

Bill says the transition from rural farmland to condensed development began in the 70s.

"The Robina corporation bought this large parcel of land down here and they started developing. They put an application into council for what became the Robina development.

"It was then quite obvious what was taking place."

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Bill Laver's full interview with ABC Gold Coast Drive Presenter, Bernadette Young.

Ebenezer Park

Ebenezer Park is on the north bank of the Tweed River bar.

The story of Ebenezer Park goes back to 1859 when a ship, the Ebenezer, ran aground and broke up in rough seas.

It is one of the region's worst recorded maritime tragedies, killing two women, as well as their two infant children.

They were the wives and children of the Boyd brothers, early pioneers of the Tweed area.

One of the descendents of the family is Warren Keats.

Warren's great grandmother is one of the women who drowned.

His great-grandfather (John) arrived here with his brother (Edward) in 1850.

He says there was some friction with the local indigenous population at the time, so the brothers didn't feel it was safe for their wives and children to relocate with them.

"So they used to commute to Sydney on the schooners. However by 1859 they'd decided that things had settled down significantly because John Boyd is reputed to have made peace with the Aboriginal people to bring their wives here to the Tweed."

The day the Ebenezer schooner was carrying the men's family, it started as just another normal day on the Tweed bar.

"The bar on the tweed was not secure - it used to change with the tides and the currents and often the cedar schooners would run a ground coming in but it was no great calamity because they'd wait for the next tide and they'd winch themselves back off the reef," says Warren.

The Ebenezer arrived in the afternoon and ran aground.

"It was no great worry to them because they thought the early morning tide would float off and the sand bar on which she (the boat) ran aground was exposed - and it was a nice sunny day so they put a ladder over the side and the women and children landed on the sand bank and frolicked."

But overnight a cyclonic depression stirred up the seas. The Ebenezer, being stuck on the sand bar, was broken into pieces.

"Edward Boyd, who coincidently couldn't swim, jumped into the sea with the two women and the little children and tried to get to the shore."

But only Edward made it back to shore alive.

"It affected them most drastically - my great grandfather in his grief - it's recorded that his hair turned white within weeks from the terrible shock."

By chance, there was one family member who never boarded the ship.

Warren's grandmother was spared the tragedy as she was sick at the time so was left to recover in Sydney.

"Fortunately, or unfortunately for her, but fortunate for her descendants, my grandmother was a little girl of six and she had contracted measles and so they left her behind in Sydney with her grandmother - otherwise, I wouldn't be here."

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Warren Keats's full interview with ABC Gold Coast's, Peter Scott.

Letitia Spit

Letitia Spit at Tweed Heads is named after a sailing ship, named 'Letitia'.

Tweed Historical Society President, Joan Smith, says the ship was the first sailing ship to ever come into the river and anchor in there.

"That was a difficult thing to do in those days because we had a very notorious bar," Joan says.

It wasn't smooth sailing for 'Letitia' either.

"She did get stuck on the way out the first time."

The ship's purpose was to transport supplies to the timber workers in the area.

"The only traffic to this area was, all the northern rivers area, was by river - the rivers were the roads... so everything came by river and the boats were the main source of extra supplies."

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Joan Smith's full interview with ABC Gold Coast Drive Presenter, Bernadette Young.

Hassard Place

You will find Hassard Place on the corner of Ferny Avenue and Thomas Drive in Surfers Paradise.

It is named after Ivy Hassard, most commonly remembered on the Gold Coast as an extremely successful fashion designer.

The patch of grass itself is a tiny strip of land separated into two parts by a road, and surrounded by busy traffic.

Ivy's daughter, Laurene, says "It wasn't always like this, Main Roads made some changes - it was actually a little larger.

"But my Mum was all about quality vs quantity anyway and it's right in the heart of Surfers which she just loved."

Ivy arrived in Surfers Paradise in 1947 and opened the lazy sea-side town's first ever fashion boutique.

She also held the first fashion show in 1954, and later also opened the first beauty palour.

But her talents didn't stop there - Ivy was also an aviatrix champion and a concert pianist!

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Laurene's full interview with ABC Gold Coast's Peter Scott.

Robert Neumann Park and Alfred Neumann Lookout

Robert Neumann Park is on the shore of the Currumbin estuary.

Just nearby on the hill is also Alfred Neumann Lookout.

Michelle Neumann belongs to the new generation of Neumanns - Alfred was her grandfather, and Robert was her father.

Alfred moved his family from Germany to Currumbin in the early 1920s.

"Alfred was lucky to win a ballot of land... and he set himself up a tent and he camped there for a year," Michelle says.

He later built himself a small home on his hill, with one of the greatest views in town!

One of many contributions Albert made to the coast was being an instrumental part of making the land surrounding Currumbin estuary a natural reserve.

His first child Robert Neumann later followed in his father's footsteps.

Michelle says Currumbin was always the Neumann family's first love.

"Then the Gold Coast, and then Australia.

"To ensure and protect the environment of the Gold Coast, and especially Currumbin, the Neumann's felt they had to participate in some form of local government."

And so Robert became an alderman with local council, eventually becoming Mayor of the Gold Coast City Council in the 1970s.

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Michelle Neumann's full interview with ABC Gold Coast's Peter Scott.

Norm Rix Park

Norm Rix Park in Labrador is filled with playground equipment, making it a popular spot for children and families.

Norm himself (now 77 years old) is a well-known Gold Coast developer.

Norm was a council alderman when the land where the park is now came up for sale.

"And I came up with the brilliant idea, because it was close to the Labrador state school, that the council could acquire the free-hold land and turn it into a park - and here it is," he says.

Being a developer, over the years Norm has learnt to balance the need for both development and public space.

"If you haven't got a balanced development you're not going to be able to sell the land and you're not going to be able to rent the premises you're going to put on the site... so at the end of the day it's got to be appealing to the people, but as far as I'm concerned I love the open air - the more parks we provide, the better the land sells and that's the way I like it."

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Norm Rix's full interview with ABC Gold Coast Drive Presenter, Bernadette Young.

Graham Dillon OAM Park

Graham Dillon OAM Park is at the corner of Hinkler Dive and Explorers Way in Worongary.

Not many people who have had a park named after them are still alive to tell their stories, but 81-year-old Graham Dillon is one of them.

Graham is an Aboriginal elder and a local Kombumerri man.

In 2009 Graham became the Elder in Residence at Griffith University to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, bringing their culture and community into the learning environment.

He also holds many other honourable roles and positions, and his family history is an exceptional one.

Graham says he delights in sharing his history and culture and is honoured to have a park named in his honour.

But when the question is asked of why he thinks the park was named after him, he jokes "In the first instance, it just could have been a spare park."

"But I think Mayor Bailden, the ex Mayor, saw the merit in fostering cultural relationships with the Aboriginal people and that shares that culture with the non-indigenous people all over the coast - he saw the merit, being a family man, being a Gold Coast person for all those years - so I'd say they were looking at the ways and means of, I'd call it a step towards reconciliation... we are one family on mother earth."

Graham's story and that of his elders is an amazing one. He recalls life on the Gold Coast before white settlement, when the only industry was timber, and when the local Aboriginal people were herded up and put into missions.

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Graham's full interview with ABC Gold Coast Drive Presenter, Bernadette Young.

Helen Ripper Pavilion

Helen Ripper is the Mudgeeraba Show President.

When a pavilion at the showgrounds was recently named after her, she had no idea as it was arranged secretly without her knowing.

Helen says she turned up to a meeting and knew something was up.

"I walked into a meeting with a lot of old faces and life members that don't usually turn up to an ordinary meeting, and viola, I became 'Helen Ripper's Pavilion'."

To receive the honour of a pavilion being named after you, it needs approval from all the life members of the show society.

"So the secretary was very sneaky in making all the contacts and got it approved," Helen says.

Helen has been Show President for nine years.

She first moved to the Gold Coast in the mid 80s, just one street away from the Mudgeeraba showgrounds.

Her neighbour was the pavilion coordinator at the time and insisted Helen help out by looking after a pottery table.

"So I did what I was told and I started from there, and now I look after the whole showground."

But this year's show was Helen's last.

"It was fantastic, it was the best show that we've had gate-wise and attendance-wise obviously, and finally we had two days without any rain after a few in 2009/2010 that we would prefer not to remember - it was a great one to go out on."

Helen says that after putting her heart and soul into the show for almost a decade, after all these "it's like going from hero to zero."

"But hopefully the society will find me a nice cushy job to do for the next couple of years because the Mudgerabah Show is part of me, I can't walk away from it completely."

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Helen Ripper's full interview with ABC Gold Coast Drive Presenter, Bernadette Young.

Lionel Perry Park

You'll find Lionel Perry Park in Whelan Street, Surfers Paradise.

It's almost impossible to imagine, but cows once grazed where this park now stands, and throughout the Surfers Paradise area.

The park is named after former councilman, Lionel Perry, who helped shape the Gold Coast's urban landscape.

Lionel Perry Junior remembers that back in the 1950s, when he was only a young boy, the land being a dairy farm, owned by 'Miss Hannah' who he remembers as "a feisty little lady".

Miss Hannah also fought very hard against development of the area.

"She didn't want to sell the property, she didn't want it developed here... and the pressures were all starting to come at that particular time, building control was lifted in 1954 and of course Surfers Paradise then decided to go ahead with these great developments because everyone then could build their own holiday home and that sort of stuff down there," Lionel says.

"We don't have a history because everything's been pulled down, all the old homes... that's what's happened to Surfers Paradise."

Lionel says his father moved to Southport in 1946 with the family and became the council's chief inspector.

"Parks and gardens were his forte basically, and love of his life."

He says his father and Mick Schamburg developed all the parks within the city.

This is why other councillors thought he should have a park named after him.

Lionel adds that if it wasn't for his father and Mick, the city would look very different today.

"They both loved horticulture and that's what the city developed on. The concrete around the place, without the horticulture, they just wouldn't look anything at all."

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Lionel Perry Junior's full interview with ABC Gold Coast Drive Presenter, Bernadette Young.

James Overell Park

James Overell Park is a sports park in Southport.

It is fittingly named after James Overell who wasn't only involved in local council, but was a keen sportsman.

James' son, Peter Overell, says that in his younger years his father attended TSS (The Southport School) and was one of very few students who represented every sport that was played at the school, and did so at first level.

"He still actually holds the three-foot-six hurdles record, because they moved to three-foot-three hurdles, so they can never take that record away from him," Peter says.

But the story of the Overell family and how they became a Southport household name goes back to 1883 in Brisbane.

He says Overells was one the dominating department stores in the retail scene of Brisbane at the time.

In 1955 the Overell family sold the Brisbane store, and Peter's father (James) moved to the Gold Coast in 1956 to start a store here in Southport.

"It was an old burnt-out restaurant and he commenced a drapery and menswear, ladies wear, general store business, again called 'Overells'."

Peter says the store plays a big role in Southport's retail history, staying open until 2002, when the retail game changed.

"Shopping centres were much more then... the whole nature of things had changed, Southport as a business centre changed a lot."

Overells used to supply most of the school uniforms to schools including TSS and St Hildas.

"And then the schools decided to do it all themselves which in turn changed the whole nature of the town because the kids didn't come down from the schools on a Friday afternoon the way they used to, they used to come and support all the other business in town - when there was no need for them to come down anymore a lot of those businesses just didn't keep going," Peter says.

He says in its heyday Southport was very vibrant and "was really a busy, busy town - back in the 60s/70s/early 80s in particular."

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Peter's full interview with ABC Gold Coast Drive Presenter, Bernadette Young.

Hinze Dam

It is commonly thought that Hinze Dam was named after politician Russ Hinze, but while it is named after his family, it's not all about Russel.

Where the dam is now situated was once a valley.

This valley and surrounding land was owned by the Hinze family, where generations lived for over a century.

Cec Hinze's grandparents began farming in the then valley, settling on the property in 1880.

Their children also lived in the area.

Cec has fond memories of growing up on the property that used to be home to creeks and waterholes, platypus, wallabies, fish, and wild ducks.

"I used to know every stone in the peak at one time but [now] you can't even see where it was.

"It was water holes, it used to flood pretty badly at certain times, but on the main it was waterholes with a trickle of water between the holes, plenty of fish in those days," he says.

Of course the valley has since been flooded to create a dam that now forms part of the south-east Queensland water grid.

The Hinze family used the valley for their water supply too, but with a much more modest system.

Cec says his grandfather created a pulley system.

"It was just a bucket on a rope, there was a carrying wire attached to a log down in the creek, it was quite steep down from where he lived and he would let the bucket down and he'd fill it up and wind it back up - that's how they got their water."

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Cec Hinze's full interview with ABC Gold Coast Drive Presenter, Bernadette Young.

Macintosh Island

You will find Macintosh Island just off the Gold Coast Highway in Surfers Paradise.

Surrounded by traffic and hustle and bustle, this park is a hidden oasis, with waterfalls, remnant rainforest, pathways, and playgrounds.

It was once swamp land but when turned into a park was named after Hugh Macintosh.

Hugh Macintosh was born in 1857 and was later a chief draftsman with the lands department in the early 1900s.

Jenny Macintosh (Hugh's great, great niece) says Hugh also had a lot to do with the naming of many Gold Coast places, and with maintaining local history.

"Right up until his death people would consult him about different place names and where they originated from and so on," she says.

Hugh was also a keen sailor.

"So in his spare time, he used to sail down in this area quite a lot, but he also had a lot to do with the surveying of the Gold Coast, and because he loved this area they named this particular little piece of paradise after him," Jenny says.

She says these days she often brings her grandchildren to the park.

"They love to play in the creeks here, and on the rocks, and in the playground - we have a good time... they're very proud of the family connection."

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Jenny Macintosh's full interview with ABC Gold Coast Drive Presenter, Bernadette Young.

Sir John (Jack) Egerton Park

Sir John (Jack) Egerton Park is just near the Broadbeach Surf Lifesaving Club.

John was a local councillor who was very well respected by his constituents.

He was also a major player in the union and labor movement.

So much so that he was offered a knighthood for his work.

However, this resulted in him being kicked out of the Labor Party.

Bill Egerton was friends with Jack back in the day when they used to hang out at the Turf Club.

"He got his knighthood and the Labor party I know at that stage were absolutely annoyed - they threatened him, they said 'if you take the knighthood we're going to discommunicate you from the Labor Party' but he stuck to his guns and he took it because he did a lot of good work for the working people that he was representing," Bill says.

"He had honesty, he had integrity, he had good work ethics, fairness, and he was down to earth, he was a man's man - a lovely guy."

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Bill Egerton's full interview with ABC Gold Coast Drive Presenter, Bernadette Young.

Tuesley Park

Back in the day when ferries from the Gold Coast to Brisbane and Stradbroke Island were big business, the Tuesley family were a huge part of the Gold Coast.

This is why Tuesley Park is named after the family, located at the intersection of Smith St and Gold Coast Highway, on the Broadwater.

Joe Tuesley is the great grandson of Jack Tuesley, and great great grandson of James Tuesley.

He says the area looks much different now to when he was growing up there.

"The whole Broadwater is completely different. We were always around the boat shed, in those days there were no speed boats, no jet skis, and it was very pleasant ."

Jack Tuesley ran the very popular ferry service in the early 1900s.

"We he had three boats and five sons, and they were all working seven days a week," Joe says.

"It became especially popular when the train line came to Southport, and on a public holidays, easter time or Christmas, the boats were full and there was a ferry service every two hours."

He says there was also less land, and more water.

This water housed the family's oyster banks that were also a big part of the Tuesley family business, until the 1950s when the space was taken by council.

"We had 121 acres and they were all out in front of the boat shed. The council took the oyster banks off us, they wouldn't renew the lease because they said they looked untidy, so we were given a dollar per acre for them."

The Tuesleys also acted as rescuers when boaties got into trouble, as this was well before the days of Surf Life Savers and Volunteer Marine Rescue groups.

"There was no one, and there was nothing, no radios," Joe says.

He says they were the first people in Southport to have a phone, discounting the council.

"Our phone number was 40. Regularly, the police would ride down on their push bikes to make phone calls."

Not only can the family lay claim to Southport's first phone number, but Joe says his Uncle 'pud' was the first fishing inspector, when fishing was big business in the area.

"He had a little speedboat called 'The Frolic' and it had an old Zephyr car motor in it - that was in the 1950s."

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Joe's full interview with ABC Gold Coast Drive Presenter, Bernadette Young.

Panitz Bridge

Nerang's Panitz Bridge is crossed by thousands of cars each day.

It is named after Peter Panitz, who was once the area councillor.

Anne Panitz, Peter's widow, says the bridge is symbolic as it "links the two sides of town and that was Peter's dream - to link the two sides of Nerang."

Peter's list of achievements is a long one.

He was the band master for the Gold Coast City Band, was President of the Nerang State School P&C for 20 years, and was responsible for the construction of many community buildings whilst in council.

"He was a baker as well so in the early years he was trying to run a business as well," Anne says.

"When we sold the business, people around the town asked him whether he would stand for council and after a long discussion with the whole family, our four children, we decided that we would go ahead and it was a family effort."

Anne now looks at the bridge every day, as she can see it from her veranda.

"We can see 'Poppy's bridge' which is what the grandchildren call it."

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Anne's full interview with ABC Gold Coast Drive Presenter, Bernadette Young.

Elsie Laver Park

Elsie Laver Park is on Railway St at Mudgeeraba.

Elsie Laver was a big part of the Mudgeeraba community.

She was also the great aunt of Peter Franklin who says that, among many things, she was very active within the church, a huge part of the rural show, and had passionate and dedicated community spirit.

"I'd have to say probably my favourite aunt," Peter says.

"She was a very respected person in the Mudgeeraba community, she was known as a person who was always ready to lend a hand to others wherever she could and she had what I looked at, even as a young boy, a tremendous community spirit."

So much so that the day she died, she had spent that day driving older people around who couldn't arrange their own transport into town to do their essential errands.

Today the park includes a war memorial with a number of historical plaques about individuals, families, and battlegrounds. It also includes plaques of the histories of pioneers of the district which dates to the late 1800s.

Elsie's connection to war goes back to the World War One when her boyfriend, Daniel Barton, was sent to fight.

Both Daniel and his brother never came home, both killed in battle.

"This was something that I don't know if Elsie ever got over, she certainly never married," says Peter.

There is now a plaque in the park dedicated to Daniel.

Peter says if Elsie were here today she would be happy to have the plaque in the park named after her.

"I reckon that she'd be very happy that Daniel's plaque is now in Elsie Laver Park, she'd be very happy," he says.

"She never sought gratitude, but I think she'd see it as a good effort that's been made by the people of Mudgeeraba."

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Peter's full interview with ABC Gold Coast's Peter Scott.

Rudd Park

Rudd Park at Burleigh Heads is now home to a camp ground run by Gold Coast City Council.

Located just near the national park, it is named after the late Gough Rudd.

Gough and his famous father-in-law, Walter J Browne, are well-known for being closely connected to Nerang - so why is a park named after Gough located in Burleigh?

Well if it wasn't for Gough, back in the day Burleigh would have been siphoned off the Nerang Shire Council, when the South Coast Town Council tried to take over the coastal strip.

Gough Rudd's grandson, Jack Rudd, says before the area was made a park it was known as the 'great swamp'.

"There were big waterholes there, fresh water holes that the Aborigines would have used many years ago. Then later when the Europeans came cattle would water there," he says.

"And where Rudd Park is now they used that for camping grounds and football - all the locals played there."

Gough was chairman of the then Nerang Shire and he and his council secured the area as a camping ground for travellers who were starting to come to the coast for holidays.

"Mainly from Brisbane and Ipswich, and the 'industrial areas' as we called them," says Jack.

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Jack's full interview with ABC Gold Coast Drive Presenter, Bernadette Young.

Curtis Falls

Tamborine National Park is home to the beautiful Curtis Falls.

The falls and the pools below are now a popular spot for bushwalkers and photographers.

But while today the only construction you'll find at the tranquil site is a walking track and viewing platform, back in the 1800s there was a water wheel at the falls, powering the local saw mill.

Raymond Curtis (now 84 years old) spent his childhood living near the falls.

Raymond says he never saw the water wheel but his father did.

"He remembered the sound of it - the clacking - because the cogs around the circumference were wooden.

"The water wheel that drove the mill was in a recess in the rock on the side that had been blasted out, it was 24 feet, it was a big wheel."

The falls are named after Sidney Curtis (the brother of Raymond's grandfather) who once owned the land.

Raymond says in about 1870 both brothers purchased parcels of land on the mountain.

"He came here because he loved it, he and his brother... when they were young men they walked up to the mountain, there was nobody here, and they loved the place."

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Raymond's full interview with ABC Gold Coast Drive Presenter, Bernadette Young.

William Duncan State School

The story of Nerang's William Duncan State School takes us all the way back to the mid 1800s.

The late William Duncan's great granddaughter, Joan Rudd, says William was one of two men who were the first white people to enter the region, travelling over the range from the Tweed Valley, looking for timber.

"Timber was a very scarce commodity so they came over here and they found bonanza, they found cedar, pine, beech, and all those wonderful things.

"He came down and there were only Aboriginals here at the time and he and Edmund Harper learnt the local Aboriginal language and the Duncan's are some of the few people who still know the words of these people that were here before."

The school was named after William as back in the day he and his wife, Rose, opened up their home as a school for the local children.

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Joan's full interview with ABC Gold Coast Drive Presenter, Bernadette Young.

Mick Schamburg Park

On top of Miami Headland sits Mick Schamburg Park.

It is just one park that Mick Schamburg was integral in creating.

Today parks, shade, trees, and green spaces are common council priorities but back in Mick's day it was just him and one other council employee who led the charge.

His son Tom Schamburg says in many ways his father was responsible for the greening of the Gold Coast.

"So what more appropriate way to say thank you than to name a park after him," he says.

It is recorded that Mick planted around 250,000 trees in his time working with Southport Council in the 1950s.

But he was in no way an expert landscaper or horticulturist.

"He was a self-taught person," says Tom.

"But he tried to select trees that would live in a salty foreshore environment which is why there are so many casuarinas, pandanas, and norfolk island pines on the coast.

"It was probably bred into him instinctively, he didn't really know that it was in him but he loved the open spaces, he loved to see something green, and he loved flowers, it was a labor of love I guess."

However Mick did acquire more and more knowledge as he went along.

He read books about plants and each year the council would send him to a parks conference.

Tom says he was a man with a vision.

"He wanted the coast to be green and open, nothing made him happier than to say 'let's go for a picnic somewhere' to the family.

Tom adds that his father would be happy to see the park, and the others he created, being used by families today.

"I'm sure he's up there now saying 'well I've done something that makes people happy, I've made something so that people can enjoy the open spaces and the greening of the city'."

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Tom's full interview with ABC Gold Coast Drive Presenter, Bernadette Young.

Esme Lahey Environmental Park

Tamborine Mountain's Esme Lahey Environmental Park is a nature reserve on the corner of Licuala Dr and Cliff Rd, North Tamborine.

'Esme st Park' was left neglected for a long time until 11 years ago when there was a decided push to clean it up.

At the time of the park's re-birth it was renamed 'Esme Lahey Environmental Park' and Landcare has maintained it since.

Esme Lahey was a conservationist before the word existed in mainstream language.

She came from a large family of high achievers, notably her sister was Vida Lahey (the famous artist) and her brother was Romeo Lahey (engineer and Scenic Rim National Park advocate).

Jenny Peat, a living relative of the Lahey family, says Esme herself was committed to generating awareness of the local ecology among the area's children.

"She could do this by producing her own little posters of animals and plants and showing them to the children so she just did that of her own accord."

"It's recorded that she was a very kindly person... she was described also as a bit of a larrikin, having grown up with a lot of brothers."

Jenny says she enjoys Esme's story as she was doing good things and was a good woman during hard times.

"She was one of a family of achievers, she probably wasn't in the limelight but in her own way she was still very special and well-loved within her family and throughout the neighbourhood."

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Jenny's full interview with ABC Gold Coast Drive Presenter, Bernadette Young.

Clarrie Francis Park

Clarrie Francis Park is on the corner of Gold Coast Highway and West Burleigh Road at Burleigh Heads.

It's certainly not a peaceful park as it is surrounded by traffic and thousands of people drive past every day.

Clarrie Francis has now passed away, but his daughter Gladys Rankin, can tell his story.

She says the park is a very special place for her.

"Very much so, it's a part of my life and I'm so proud to sit here opposite where we lived years ago."

Across from their old home (where the Burleigh Gardens building now stands) is where 'CJ Francis Busways' once operated from.

Clarrie Francis began the business in 1920.

"He started a service up to West Burleigh Railway station to bring people off the train to bring them back to have their holidays in Burleigh. It was quite a new thing really because I think it was a horse and cart before he started," says Gladys.

"He'd deliver them to their door and carry their luggage, it was service with a smile."

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear the full interview with ABC Gold Coast Drive Presenter, Bernadette Young.

Jack Evans Boat Harbour

The Jack Evans Boat Harbour is at the mouth of the Tweed River.

It's a harbour where you'll find kids in rubber tubes and people of all ages frolicking in the water as you sit under the shade of the Pandanus and Palm trees.

The harbour is named after Jack Evans.

Jack loved the water.

He was a champion life saver, he built the ocean baths at Burleigh Heads and Snapper Rocks, and ran the famous 'Pet Porpoise Pool' (a dolphin oceanarium) at Snapper Rocks.

"Then he had a custom-made pool built just at the mouth of the Tweed River," says Jack's daughter, Toni Cameron.

"There he performed lots of rescues as people always got into trouble at the bar so he was famous for rescuing people and for just being 'Jack Evans' because he was such a character."

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Toni's full interview with ABC Gold Coast Drive Presenter, Bernadette Young.

Marj Shipman Community Centre

But it was a very different place when it first opened, with only about nine families living in the area.

The hall building was in the Brisbane suburb of Archerfield at the time and it was going to become the progress association hall.

Marj Shipman (who of course the community centre was named after) says getting the building to the Gold Coast was a huge challenge as it had to be moved in two pieces.

"It was sent with men on the side with their axes because of overhanging branches... after five days we had the first half settled on the land, following that we had a better time, this time of three and half days for the second part," Marj says.

"The most joyous time was when we saw two pieces together on the land and honestly when you see an achievement like that, it's unbelievable. It now stands in 50 years time as tribute to all of the effort that was made and the hall is a grand place to have in the community."

Listen to the audio to the right of this page to hear Marj's full interview with ABC Gold Coast Drive Presenter, Bernadette Young.